It has been my experience that most BJJ instructors teach this way. The techniques are random on different days but over time begin to fill in the gaps. I imagine it would be difficult to spend alot of time on only one aspect as there are so many positions and moves however for beginners there should be some core priciples and positions that are drilled repeatedly.

This is a great point, and not what another poster thought it was.

At my school if you went only on, say, thursday, you'd learn a nice triangle mount armbar. That would not help much.

If you went the whole week:
Monday: 3 guard passes
Tuesday: 3 mounts from side
Wednesday: 3 transistions

What Red Elvis is saying is that you just need some more mat time. It takes the average person about 6 months, training at least 2 times a week to become semi-competent on the mat. Chaining together moves in a competent manner is a skill that typically takes over a year.

Exactly. That and the fact that you'll find during a typical week the techniques will typically play off each other in a series. If you only show up once or twice a week you miss huge portions of the series. If you find you don't use techniques more than once every couple months you need to drill with someone on your own. Keep a log, review it once a week if nothing else and visualize the techniques. Most important is to roll with people better than you and always try to make your techniques work even if they kick your arse.

I've found a set curriculum to be BORING. But that's just me.

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:icon_twis .
To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence;
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without spilling your Guinness.Sun "Fu Man JhooJits" Tzu, the Art of War & Guinness

Whether applying a self-defence technique, a too advanced combo system or even an advanced Kata.No matter what night of the week our instructor introduces us to whatever new system he remembered from his Kohai years. No matter what rank everyone is encouraged to try it at least. We weren't ever sharp but we sparred a lot.

For awhile I had to go to another KK shool and the curriculum was regimented. Everyone had to get whatever Kata or basic moves down pat.No dabbling in anything too advanced.

Also I always had the impression that even when it was a normal class. The class was always geared to the advanced belts (ie.brown and black).For a white belt that's tough.They had to sink or swim. Regradless of the high cardio exercises and basic’s. In other words in was always fast and boring.And I rarely saw anyhing too new there.

My judo instructor teaches on a whim. Tipically it will stem off of how someone was beat, or beat someone at a competition. We warm up, listen to him talk about the techiques, then we get throwing. Usually we finish up with some mat work or randori.

My aikido instructor teaches randomly, he just kinda flows around tipically going off of an idea or a thought from something he watched on tv, or something his teacher said to him (he still trains even after 20+ years). We warm up on our own, then we usually get in a line and take turns getting thrown and throwining (everyone in the class throws everyone highest to lowest rank in order). Then we pair off and work on techniques based on what we were just tought or things we need work on. With our instructor interjecting comments on our technique. We usually end the class with some jo kata.

My bjj instructor has a overall feel for a week. For example this week we are working techniques from knee on chest. Both offensive and defensive. We do warm ups, then some general drills, then technque drills on the 'theme' of the week. Then we spar for a good 45minutes to an hour. After that we bow out, and the next class starts (usually a no gi or NHB class).

At our school we typically learn random techniques. Usually a class goes warm up, learn a ground technique, practice it, practice it with some resistance, learn a takedown, practice it. Then on Saturday and Sunday we do sparring to tie it all together.

The best way to learn is to sink or swim, and in BJJ they throw you into the water very quickly (I started rolling by the end of my first class). To compensate, you have to build a very broad base of skills quickly. Those skills then become better through sparring. I think of the techniques section before rolling as the supplimentary training.

:google:

Number of bottles of beer downed by me and my girlfriend within a half hour while playing the Channel 7 "how many times will they say 'snow' game" during the "Blizzard of '06": 3.5 each.

The best way to learn is to sink or swim, and in BJJ they throw you into the water very quickly (I started rolling by the end of my first class). To compensate, you have to build a very broad base of skills quickly. Those skills then become better through sparring. I think of the techniques section before rolling as the supplimentary training.

Yea my first night of bjj i was sparing. To top it off I mentioned I had a little judo training so the instructor told the blue belt I was a judo player and he smoked me with submisson after submisson. I found that in the few months I've done bjj my skills have grown much much faster then they did in judo. I think its the quality of the teachers, the large number of students, and the constant rolling. My judo instructor is much more worried and takes a long time to let new students roll. He also doesn't allow chokes and armbars to be taught to white belts. I was getting beat constantly by high ranks in judo when we did mat work. Now I frequently tap them. I still get tapped 9 times out of 10 in bjj class though.

Yea my first night of bjj i was sparing. To top it off I mentioned I had a little judo training so the instructor told the blue belt I was a judo player and he smoked me with submisson after submisson. I found that in the few months I've done bjj my skills have grown much much faster then they did in judo. I think its the quality of the teachers, the large number of students, and the constant rolling. My judo instructor is much more worried and takes a long time to let new students roll. He also doesn't allow chokes and armbars to be taught to white belts. I was getting beat constantly by high ranks in judo when we did mat work. Now I frequently tap them. I still get tapped 9 times out of 10 in bjj class though.

Welcome to the dark side.

:google:

Number of bottles of beer downed by me and my girlfriend within a half hour while playing the Channel 7 "how many times will they say 'snow' game" during the "Blizzard of '06": 3.5 each.

Anyway, at my shidokan school its just like your BJJ school. At this point though, Ive gotten used to it but my early days (ive only really been in it for a bit more than a year) I was so out of it. We sparred and I tried to get the fight to the ground and use high school wrestling techniques, which was the only thing I knew at that point.